BlueSky Thinking
by living-on-coffee
Summary: At 16, Scorpius Malfoy is in limbo, wondering where he belongs in the world: with the Death Eaters, or the "good guys" - neither of which will accept him. Until he meets a girl who gives him a second chance, and changes the way he sees the world.
1. Chapter 1: Blood In, Blood Out

Disclaimer: sadly, I do not own the magical world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts - J. K. Rowling does. In fact, this is a fanfiction, which is simply me writing my version of the eighth harry potter book (which doesn't exist) because I'm a huge fan (yeah, I spend my days googling all that is Harry Potter). The only thing that I possibly own is the character of Vela, whom I invented for the purpose of my story. I also own the actual wording...just not the characters, or the spells, or the world...so, if you want to steal it (please don't) it really won't get you anywhere because you can't publish it or anything, cuz Rowling owns it ALL (except Vela).

anyways, this is for my sister, Henry (I don't know if you want me to put your real name on here, so I'll use your nickname for now). She is the awesomest person I know, and my best friend, and my fellow Potter-holic. She listens to my rants about the names and their meanings, and how I read all the spells and then watched the movies and screamed out the spells' names as they occured, and even read my blog _about_ my potter-holic-ness and liked it. so, this is for you, Henry. because you encourage me in everything I do, listen to my rants, endure my crazy (and even feed it sometimes, when it's really hungry), and, of course, because you yelled at me over the phone and said "WRITE THE 8TH BOOK! NOW!"

so, briefly, this is from Scorpius Malfoy's POV, because I love the bad guys and I feel that their side never gets told, plus I just started writing today, and it came out from his eyes, so...yeah. this is set during Scorpius/Albus/Rose's 6th year at Hogwarts (sorry, I find romance stories creepy and stupid when they're about 11 year olds)(yes, this is a romance, sorry. it's not going to be all kissing and love, though. there's going to be duelling, and quidditch, and humor, and hopefully some death or maybe just violence).

(as a side note: I've always wanted someone to "cackle" evilly, and I just heard the word supercilious and wanted to use that too.)

each chapter is a song name, because music is the best inspiration. this song - Blood In, Blood Out - is by Bloodsimple; i've never heard it, but the lyrics sounded good (except the f word is used profusely). enjoy.

* * *

><p>"<em>Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."<em>

_-Mother Teresa _

**Blood In, Blood Out**

"Can you _believe _this?" snapped Abacus Yaxley, gazing out the window at the platform below. "All these _Half-bloods_ and _Mudbloods. _God! It makes me sick!"

A chorus of ascension rose up from the other's in the compartment. Gage Rowle and Flint Forsyth both let out hisses, and Axiom Bulstrode pulled out her wand as if she were ready to curse them all right then.

"I really wish I could teach all those Mudbloods a lesson," Yaxley continued, glancing down at his wand and twirling it around his fingers thoughtfully. Axiom and Flint leaned forward excitedly, their eyes glimmering with a hunger for violence. Yaxley seemed oblivious to the effect of his words, however, and he continued to gaze at his wand, sighing. "Too bad my father forbade me from causing trouble this year." He snorted. "Like that's actually going to keep me from cursing a first year or two!"

Once again, an echo of laughter resounded through the compartment of Slytherins. Yaxley's eyes shifted through the room, his lips pulled back in a smirk. The smile left his face as his eyes fell on Scorpius Malfoy, sitting in the corner.

"Do you not agree, _Malfoy_?" Yaxley asked sternly, causing the others to fall dead silent. "Do you not think the blood-traitors deserve it?"

Scorpius slowly looked up into the older boy's affronted face and tried not to glare back. He hated it when Yaxley talked like that: framing his sentences in a backwards sort of way. His father said it was the boy's way of showing his superiority. Scorpius thought he just sounded like an arrogant, stuck-up ass.

Scorpius gazed into Yaxley's eyes and smirked. "I agree completely," he said finally. The other boy's eyes tightened in disbelief. "Forgive me," Scorpius continued, "you merely caught me in midst of one of my daydreams."

Yaxley's eyebrows raised slightly, then he too smirked. "Of course," he whispered.

Neither looked away though, challenging each other to be the first to surrender and glance away. The silence became deadly; the air too think to breathe. There came a knock at the window, and the other Slytherins jumped at the sudden noise. Yaxley's left eye crept to the corner of his eye, straining to see, then slid back to the middle again. He smiled.

"Look, _Malfoy_, your little sister's here to see you." He inclined his head at the window overlooking the platform.

Scorpius nodded. "I know," he said calmly. After a moment he looked away, breaking the trance in the room. His eyes fell upon the little girl's face barely visible above the windowsill; she stood on tiptoes to gaze inside. When her eyes found Scorpius, she dropped back down.

"Continue on, Yaxley," Scorpius said coolly, standing and walking out through the compartment door. "I'll be back in a moment. Don't say anything _too_ important." The last thing he saw before he turned to walk away was Yaxley's eyes tightening.

Scorpius allowed himself a laugh as he exited the train; challenging Yaxley was one of his favorite pass-times. He hopped down onto the platform and glanced around for his little sister, squinting through the steam. He strolled down the side of the train, ducking around groups of friends and families. Finally, he spotted her by one of the train-doors; she stood, anxiously glancing around, her trunk laid at her feet and her cat cradled in her arms.

"Vela!" he called, rushing up.

She turned towards him at her name, and he noticed that her cheeks were red and tear-stained. "Scorpius!"

"What is it?"

"My trunk…I can't lift it, and no one will help me!"

He sighed and placed his hand on her smooth, blonde head. "Calm down, it's all right. I've got it, okay?" He easily picked up her trunk and slid it onto the train, then turned back to his sister. "Are you okay now?"

She nodded, wiping at her face.

"Where are Mum and Dad? Didn't they help you?"

"They had to go talk to some weird people, or something."

Scorpius glanced around and let out another sigh. Typical of his parents: promise to help, then ditch their kid at the first possible moment. He knelt down and gave Vera a hug. "That's all right. Now I have you all to myself!" In a swift motion he lifted her in his arms and spun her around once really quickly.

She let out a squeal and then pushed herself out of his embrace. "Come on! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Oh, right! I forgot, now you're a Hogwarts student, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

Scorpius laughed and rubbed her head again. "Okay, Vela, run along and find a seat before they're all taken. And remember," he called after her as she disappeared into the steam. "think Slytherin thoughts!"

She let out a giggle as she faded away into the crowd.

Scorpius gazed after her and thought back to when he was her age: carefree, energetic, and terrified of today. Now it was just routine; another year at school. He turned to get back on the train.

A girl was struggling to get her trunk up onto the train while also balancing a stack of books under one arm. She just managed to lift the trunk high enough when her arm slipped and the books went everywhere.

"Troll dung!" she cursed under her breath, heaving her trunk the rest of the way on.

"Here." Scorpius automatically bent to gather up the books. There were 5 or 6 huge volumes, and he was surprised she could carry them at all, considering their combined weight.

The girl was just turning away from the train, having placed a cage beside her trunk. "Oh," she muttered as Scorpius straightened up and handed them to her. "Thanks, so much." She smiled, her cheeks red from exertion.

He smiled back awkwardly. "No problem."

Behind them, the giant clock on the wall tolled 11 o'clock and the train let out a long, shrill whistle that left Scorpius' head ringing. All around them, parents were saying quick goodbyes and giving last minute instructions; students of all ages hung from windows, waving, some crying, blowing kisses and yelling goodbye.

Scorpius clambered up onto the train behind the girl, and turned to gaze at the crowd of parents and younger siblings.

"Why can't I go too?" cried one little girl, who looked to be about 9. "I already know _two_ spells."

"Goodbye, Harriet!" called one mother.

"Try to stay out of trouble this year, won't you?" yelled a father to his sons, who grinned and pretended not to hear.

Scorpius leaned on the railing, glancing from face to face, searching for his parents, wondering if they would wave goodbye to their eleven year old daughter. He couldn't find their faces in the crowd, however, and the train slowly built up speed and pulled away from the platform, heading into the countryside.

After a while, Scorpius returned to his compartment, which had grown more crowded since he had left. Yaxley was still going on about how many Muggle families he had spotted in the crowd, and Axiom was hanging on his every word, nodding enthusiastically after each pause.

No one glanced up as Scorpius reclaimed his seat between Rowle and Cobalt Zabini; the latter was facing away from him, playing a violent game of Wizard's chess with his sister, Calyx.

"Knight to E5," cried Cobalt excitedly.

"You don't want to do that!" muttered Calyx superciliously.

Cobalt sighed heavily. "And why not?" he demanded.

Calyx gave her long black hair a flick and pointed a long finger down at a section of the board. "Don't you _see_ my queen? She'll destroy you!"

"Oh…" Cobalt leaned forward, biting his thumbnail. "Well…can I take my move back?"

His sister let out an evil giggle. "Of course not, silly! Queen to E5!"

Scorpius watched as the queen drew back one dainty hand and slapped the head right off the knight.

Cobalt removed the headless piece with a gloomy expression. "I thought you giving me advice was supposed to help me _win_!"

Calyx grinned. "It will…eventually."

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius turned, suddenly aware of his name being called. Yaxley was staring at him, his eyes vacant of emotion.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Scorpius, what is your view on the battle going on?"

"Battle?"

"Yes," Yaxley replied, smiling smugly, having caught Scorpius off-guard. "The battle between us Purebloods and the…_others_." He spoke the word as if it were a rancid potion that he was spitting onto the carpet. "Axiom and I were just discussing whom we thought held what allegiance - obviously everyone in this room is a follower of _our_ crowd - but when we reached you, well, we just weren't sure." He shot Scorpius another smug smile. "Not after what happened during the last wizarding war."

Bile rose in Scorpius' mouth, and a hunger began to grow deep in his belly: a hunger not for food, but a hunger to rip the smug look right off of the other boy's face. He knew, however, that if he attacked Yaxley, the others would be on him in a second - they were his brainwashed followers, after all.

So he smiled and feigned obliviousness. "After what happened, Yaxley?"

"Why, after your father _defected_, of course." Every eye in the room was now trained on Scorpius, but he tried to ignore them and the growing anger inside him. Yaxley gazed into his eyes for a moment, seeming to sense Scorpius' rage, and then continued. "Your father **did** turn over to _their_ side, didn't he? Your whole family?"

Scorpius worked his jaw angrily, and tried to reply calmly. "Yes."

"Doesn't that _bother_ you?" Yaxley asked, glee shining in his eyes. That was his favorite thing in the world, Scorpius remembered, to cause people pain. "I mean, your whole family **surrendered** - your whole family went against _Voldemort_."

Scorpius' father had warned him about this: this egging on of his peers, this challenging behavior. It was all because his grandfather and grandmother surrendered to the Ministry at the end of the war in return for amnesty. Though he didn't blame them - he wouldn't want to go to Azkaban for the rest of his life either - he couldn't help but feel that his grandparents were the cause of all of this.

"Your family is now **full **of _blood-traitors_, Scorpius. How does that feel?"

For a moment the fire blazed too high inside of him, and he thought that the anger might boil over and he would go for Yaxley's throat. He took a deep breath, clenched his jaw, and gazed into Yaxley's arrogant face.

Slowly, the fire inside him calmed and began to simmer quietly. "To answer your question: yes, it does bother me, Yaxley." He allowed himself a smile. "But then I remember that my mother and father **aren't** locked up in Azkaban, and I feel _so_ much better."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Calyx gasp and put a hand over her mouth, and he saw Yaxley's hand tighten into a fist around his wand.

"How are your parents, Yaxley? Visited them lately, have you? Or are they so mad now that they don't know their own son?"

Scorpius knew what was coming before Yaxley moved, so he was ready when the boy leapt from his seat and came at him, his fingers like claws - his wand forgotten. Scorpius jumped up from his seat, avoiding the collision by an inch, and laughed as Yaxley crashed headfirst into the seat.

"What's wrong, Yaxley? Can't take a joke?"

This time, Yaxley was faster than him, and the boy threw a punch that hit Scorpius right in the stomach. He doubled over, laughing and gasping at the same time, enjoying the anger in Yaxley's eyes.

"What's the matter?" he coughed out. "Did I hit a sensitive spot? I'm so-"

Yaxley cut off his jibe with another punch, this one to his face. Scorpius landed awkwardly across the laps of several Slytherins, who shrank away from him like he was infected with Dragon Pox. He lay there, dazed for a moment, then scrambled up into a standing position again. Something warm trickled down his face, and he wiped at his nose: his hand came away covered in blood.

"Is that the best you've got?" he chided, raising his own two fists. "Come on, try it again."

Flint and Rowle had come to stand behind Yaxley, looking like two scrawny bodyguards. They crossed their arms over their chests, trying to seem menacing. Yaxley was twirling his wand between his fingers again, grinning.

"Aw, now, what's this?" Scorpius asked, his fists still raised. "Come on, have your two idiots stand down." He waited, but neither of them moved. "What? Can't fight fair, Yaxley?"

Yaxley laughed then, raising his wand and twisting it in tight, excited circles. "Oh," he cackled. "But I am!"

* * *

><p>so? you like it? you love it? please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. give me some feedback please, anything is appreciated.<p>

i also just realized that I made up all these Slytherin children, and I didn't mention that...oops. well, I own the following characters (which I, of course, created from former Death Eater's last names. I tried to pick ones that were of the Imprisoned/Possibly InHiding variety, so that it is plausible that they had kids.) Here they are, so please don't steal them: Flint Forsyth, Gage Rowle, Axiom Bulstrode, Abacus Yaxley, and Calyx and Cobalt Zabini. there are more to come, but since they have not been mentioned I shall...not...mention...them? my fav charrie so far, besides Scorpius, is Calyx. xD reminds me of Henry playing chess.

anyways, please review! please, please, please!

i need plot help, desperately. ideas would be appreciated (note: I may not use your idea, but it may assist me in creating my own, or i might incorporate a part of it in)

**Little bit of Trivia: **I picked the name Vela for Scorpius' sister because, as you know, both Draco and Scorpius have constellation names as well as some of their distant relatives: Andromeda, Orion, Cygnus, and Cassiopea. When I was researching constellation names, I also found that a lot of the Blacks are named after "the brightest stars in the constellations"; here they are: Sirius, Regulus, Alphard, Pollux, and Arcturus. This is why I gave Vela the middle name Wray, which is one of the stars in the constellation Scorpius (oh, the irony); correctly named Wray 17-96, it is one of the "most luminous stars known". (oh, the irony there too; you'll see why later)

thanks so much.


	2. Chapter 2: Stand or Fall

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this Harry Potter stuff. I am simply a hardcore fan who wants to be a nerd and write a fanfic. everything belongs to J. K. Rowling (except my OCs)

For my lovely sister, Henry, who sat beside me when I was little, pencil and paper in hand, for hours upon hours, helping me with my alphabet. (Though I'm positive I would have learned it anyhow, and I'm sure Mom or Dad helped/taught me as well, I like to think of you as the person who handed me my future: 26 letters, and the ability to string them into words.)

I personally love this quote by Mark Twain, so I was excited when it fit the chapter. The song Stand or Fall is by Janick Thibault. find him on facebook or Youtube.

-hope you guys like this, and that it lives up to your expectations. sorry about the lack of plot so far - though it is only the 2nd chapter - I promise the next one will have more meat to it. I just needed some more exposition, you know, to let you get to know Scorpius a little better (hopefully your opinion of him will not change negatively).

* * *

><p>"<em>I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." <em>

_-Mark Twain_

**Stand or Fall **

Scorpius winced as another spell struck his chest. He didn't exactly know what spell it was, but it exploded from Yaxley's wand in a shower of red sparks and left his entire torso stinging. Probably a stunning spell of some kind. It also propelled his back through the compartment door - which Flint and Rowle had conveniently opened.

He hit the opposite compartment door, narrowly managing not to fall right through the glass, and crumpled to the ground, gasping and clutching his chest. Rowle let out a chuckle from his position by the door, and Axiom giggled delightedly from her seat.

Scorpius felt the anger rising in him again, but it wasn't until he saw Yaxley's sallow, pointed face rising into a grin that he really got enraged. It was this grin that propelled him back onto his feet and made him yank his wand from his pocket.

"Rictusempra!" he yelled, his wand pointed at Yaxley's chest. The spell sent Yaxley flying back into his group of lackeys. The boy lay, sprawled across the seat, stunned for a moment, until he was able to shake it off. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he spat, rubbing his shoulder and standing.

Scorpius smiled. "Really? Cuz here I was thinking: Stupefy!"

Yaxley staggered, but somehow managed to block the spell and keep his footing. He glared at Scorpius with livid brown eyes. He raised his wand but then winced, clutching his shoulder. Scorpius hoped it was dislocated. "Get him!" he yelled.

For a moment Scorpius didn't understand, and he glanced around the room, confused. Two pairs of hands seized him; grabbing his arms and yanking his wand from his hand. "Hey!" he exclaimed, trying to twist free. He glanced from Flint's face, to Rowle's, then to his wand which was now in Axiom's possession. "What the-"

Scorpius gasped as Yaxley's fist collided with his nose. Light shot across his vision, and he felt his nose break. "Merlin's beard!" he gasped. He could feel blood flowing down his face, again. "Give a guy a-" Yaxley grinned, driving his fist into Scorpius' ribs. A lightning bolt of pain spasmed through his torso - which was already sore from Yaxley's spells - and he doubled over, held up only by Minion 1 and Minion 2. "-chance!" he finished.

Yaxley stood back, laughing, and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let him go." Flint and Rowle released him, shoving him back into the compartment.

Scorpius leaned against the door, clutching his chest which throbbed. Blood dripped into his mouth and he spat it onto the floor, glaring around the room. "You know," he said, wiping at his nose. "there's only one thing I hate more than wimps who can't fight their own battles." He shot a look at Yaxley who was still laughing. "And that's a bunch of spineless toadstools like you guys who blindly follow on asshole like him." Scorpius felt every eye focused on him as he straightened up and pointed a finger at Yaxley.

Axiom's grin had faded and she was glaring at him like he was an insect she wanted to squish. Two fourth years were watching Yaxley's face worriedly - which was turning an angry purple color - and Flint was scratching his head confusedly, probably wondering what a toadstool was. The Zabini twins had long since abandoned their chess game, and Calyx was watching Scorpius with a thoughtful expression.

"Face it, Yaxley," Scorpius continued. "You're just as pathetical as those _muggles_." Every head in the room snapped to attention at the word, and every eye slowly turned to Yaxley. Yaxley looked murderous. Scorpius smiled. "What? Did I hurt your feelings?" he taunted, watching Yaxley step closer to him, his wand clutched in his hand. "I thought that since you call other people _muggle_ you wouldn't mind being called it yourself."

"You're walking a thin line here, Malfoy," Yaxley spat, creeping closer. "You better watch your step."

Scorpius rolled his eyes; he'd heard this threat hundreds of times. "Or you'll do what? Bore me to death?"

Yaxley moved so swiftly that Scorpius barely knew what hit him. In the back of his mind, he knew that the boy would probably curse him, but he hadn't expected him to just attack. Yaxley's fist smacked into his jaw, and Scorpius went reeling backwards; he fell through the open compartment door and straight through the glass of the opposite door.

Scorpius landed on the floor amid a shower of glass and an explosion of screams. He lay, sprawled flat on his stomach with his face buried in the carpet, trying to figure out if anything was broken. Behind him he could hear the laughter of his fellow Slytherins.

Moving slowly, gingerly, Scorpius managed to push himself up onto his knees amid the shards of glass and glance around him. For a moment he thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, and he blinked furiously trying to fix his vision. But no, there they were: six or seven red-haired girls, all staring wide-eyed at him from their seats, looking almost identical to each other in their shock. One girl looked ready to faint from surprise, and another, sitting on Scorpius' right, had drawn her knees to her chest to avoid him as he fell.

Scorpius glanced from red-haired girl, to red-haired girl, sighing and shaking his head. "Figures," he muttered to himself, dusting off his hands. Of all the compartments he could have been pushed through, it had to be full of Gryffindors, and Weasleys at that. His father had told him all about the infamous family: purebloods that married into mudblood families; blood-traitors that had way too many kids to take care of. They were one of the many wizarding families who hated the Malfoys for their role in the Second Wizarding War, and had wanted his grandfather and father sent to Azkaban.

"Are you okay?" one little girl asked, her eyes wide and anxious. She held out a handkerchief to him. "Here, your face is bleeding."

Scorpius glared at the girl; he didn't need some first year's help. "No thanks," he replied curtly. "I'll just use magic, like a normal wizard." The girl's arm dropped back down to her side, and she hung her head looking embarrassed and crest-fallen. A pin-prick of guilt struck Scorpius, but he pushed it aside, momentarily preoccupied with finding his wand. Where had he…? Of course, Axiom had it. He cursed under his breath and stood slowly, brushing slivers of glass from his attire.

"Sorry about the mess," he said sarcastically as he moved to the doorway. His eyes met the little girl's and he smiled. "but I'm sure you can probably sweep it up with that _hanky,_ or something." The girl's face turned beet-red, and Scorpius turned sharply on his heel. He knew his father would be proud, but somehow it felt wrong: tormenting little kids. They weren't, after all, responsible for what their parents had done, just as he was not responsible for what his grandparents had done. Still, it felt good to vent some of his anger, and it was expected of him anyways.

Yaxley and the others were waiting for him when he emerged from the other compartment, and even though there was still anger in Yaxley's eyes, Scorpius thought he detected a slight glimmer of admiration; they had all clearly heard what he'd said to the Weasley girl.

Yaxley gazed at Scorpius, grinning. "So, did I _bore_ you to death enough, or do I need to kick your ass some more?"

Scorpius looked calmly back into Yaxley's eyes. "No. I think we've done enough ass kicking for one today. I'm free tomorrow though." He let a grin spread across his face, delighting in the look of pure hate on Yaxley's face.

"Enough, Scorpius," Cobalt muttered, watching Yaxley's face. "You've made your point."

"Actually," Scorpius retorted, turning to the other boy, "now that you mention it, I don't think I _am_ done. I mean, I still have so many people to insult: your dad, Rowle's dad, Flint's dad…wow, we all seem to have daddy issues, don't we?"

Cobalt's face hardened into a glare and his hands formed fists at his sides. "You don't know anything-" he began.

Calyx put her hand comfortingly on her twin brother's shoulder, cutting him off and silencing him. "Stop it, Scorpius," she said. "It's really not funny anymore."

"It was never funny," snapped a boy in the corner. His dark eyes were fixed on Scorpius, and his mouth had formed a hard line. He looked like a dementor, sitting where he was in the shadow of the window, with the collar of his jacket pulled up to his ears and his black hair hanging around his ears.

"Oh hey!" Scorpius replied, smiling. "I didn't see you there, Davonte. How's it going?"

Davonte Drake had been a central part of the Slytherin's group since they were first years, but the boy was hardly ever _near_ them, so to speak. He was a big, daunting guy who kept to himself and instilled a subconscious fear in everyone he laid eyes on - or anyone that laid eyes on him - just simply by _existing_.

The boy scrunched his face into a glare; Scorpius, though he had known Davonte for nearly six years, felt himself shrink back a little, feeling intimidated. "Shut up," the boy snapped. It wasn't a warning or a suggestion. It was a command. Without another glance at anyone around him, the boy turned back to the window and acted as if he'd never spoken. That was the thing about Davonte; he could appear out of nowhere and end an argument with one word, then just as easily fade back into the wallpaper.

Scorpius sighed, working his jaw angrily. "You know, somehow, I just don't feel like taking orders today. It just feels like a argument kind of day, you know?" He was babbling, talking to no one in particular. "I just feel like _punching_ someone **really** hard…"

"I'm really tired of your crap, Malfoy." It was Yaxley again, glaring at him and talking in a reproachful voice. "So either shut up, or I'll blow your head off, okay?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You can't _blow my head off_."

"Really?" Yaxley raised his eyebrows. "And why is that? Because your daddy would hunt me down and kill me? Because you'll magically get your wand back and curse me yourself?" He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief. Scorpius watched him with hate-filled eyes. "Have you forgotten?" the other boy continued. "Your family is no longer at the top. They went against the Dark Lord. You're not the head boy anymore, Malfoy."

Yaxley spoke the word Malfoy like it was the name of a disgusting street rat that he was cursing. Scorpius clenched his fists at his sides, trying to withstand the urge to punch the other boy. His nails dug into the palms of his hands and he took a deep breath.

The other boy's eyes flickered to Scorpius' hands, and he smiled, knowing that he was getting under his skin. "Heck, you're not even second or third in command anymore. You lost your spot when you became blood-traitors. Your family is no better than street trash now. You're no better than _muggles_."

The anger inside of him had reached such a high degree that it suddenly dissipated and left behind it a strange calm. Scorpius back at the Yaxley for a long moment, letting the anger settle and seethe. Yaxley's eyes were full of self-admiration; he was probably proud of himself for being able to think up those insults. "Touché," he said finally, flashing a fake smile of admiration. It took Yaxley off guard; the other boy had expected him to be livid. Scorpius could see the obvious disappointment in his eyes.

He took a step towards Yaxley, his hand extended. The other boy flinched and moved backwards a step, expecting an attack, but Scorpius ignored it and continued forward until he stood directly in front of Yaxley, with only his hand between them. You could have heard a unicorn hair drop, it was that quiet; everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what would happen next. Slowly, as if expecting a trap, Yaxley took Scorpius' hand and shook it.

"I've got to say, Yaxley, you've gotten awful good at those insults," Scorpius continued, smiling wider. "I mean, that was pretty crafty, how you threw in that muggle comment. I'm not sure if I can up that one."

Yaxley gazed at him, uncertain, then finally smiled back. "Yeah, well, you did pretty well yourself."

Inside, Scorpius laughed. God, how thick was this guy? Outside, he was all business. "Well, what do you say we call it even then? I insulted you, you insulted me. We're all square?"

Yaxley frowned, deliberating, his hand still shaking Scorpius'. "Okay," he answered finally, looking slightly uncertain.

"No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings."

Scorpius smiled, clasping the other boy's shoulder warmly. "Good, good."

Yaxley nodded, glancing away, ready to turn to reclaim his seat. Scorpius took a sudden, swift step backward and pulled his arm back; snapping it forward and socking Yaxley in the face as hard as he could.

Yaxley fell to the floor, grasping his nose which gushed blood. Axiom screamed in shock.

Scorpius laughed. "How about now?" he asked.

* * *

><p>so, how did you like it?<p>

please review. give me some feedback please, please, please. and if you have any fav quotes or songs, go ahead and post that as well, and they might even get a spot at the top of a future chapter (and you'll get a little shout out as well). also, any ideas for plots would be appreciated. I'm not saying it'll be set in stone, but I like fresh ideas to get my creativity going.

**Little bit of Trivia**: The spell Rictusempra is actually also known as The Tickling Charm. It causes an extreme tickling sensation that makes the person laugh uncontrollably. Possibly the sum of two words; The Latin _rictus_, meaning "The expanse of an open mouth", and _semper_, meaning "Always". _Rictus_ is generally used as an expression of terror, however, "always an open mouth" would, in most cases, correspond to the act of laughing uncontrollably. It was used by Harry Potter in the second movie (and maybe book) on Draco Malfoy in the Dueling Club. (i didn't think Draco was laughing)

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


End file.
